Dependent
by bazzer
Summary: Rogue may be the only on able to find Jean, but what happens when she goes missing, and John’s the only person who knows how to find her. But there's a problem, he's in a coma. Marie/Bobby, Marie/John, Scott/Jean, one-sided Jean/Logan After X2
1. 1

Title: Dependent

Author: Bazzer

Rating: PG-13 (For now)

Parings: Marie/Bobby, Marie/John, Scott/Jean, one-sided Jean/Logan

Story Summary: Rogue may be the only on able to find Jean, but what happens when she goes missing, and John's the only person who knows how to find her.

Chapter Summary: Rogue and the Professor talk, Scott needs to be consoled, and Rogue needs Bobby.

~!~!~!~

Xavier sighed as he pushed himself into the elevator, Jean's memorial service would not be over for another hour and he really did need to be at his 'appointment.' Most every one there would blame it on the grief and say he could not handle the thought of losing one of his X-men. They'd were already surprised that he had gone out before Scott and hardly thought that it would phase him.

There was a low whirling noise as the door slid open revealing his office, on one side sat his next appointment, the only other person that was not at the service, lightly gloved fingers picked up a black bishop, nimbly taking a white rook.

"You're late," she stated tucking a piece of white hair behind her ear. Closing her eyes she reached out and moved a white pawn and removed a black knight.

"I had a place to be," he wheeled himself behind his eloquent desk, "You should have been there," he told her.

She raised an eyebrow, but did not look at him, moving the black queen she smiled. Circling the white spot before she gently lay down the piece, sighing she easily knocked down the white king. Smirking she raised her eyes to her professor, "He's not a very good loser is he?" she questioned tapping her temple.

Shifting his body he realized she was avoiding his accusation, "Erik?" he asked, "No, not really." She began to reset the pieces and he sensed that she would not be the one to begin the conversation. Why should she, he thought, I'm the one who asked her here.

"I wasn't aware you were still speaking with him," she stopped cleaning up and pressed her palms flat against the surface of the small table.

She lowered her head, consequently breaking eye contact, "They don't go away, Xavier," she whispered huskily, "It's been a year and I can _still_ talk to David." She gripped her fingers into balled fists and clenched her teeth, "He _still_ hates me," she continued tightly.

He steepled his fingers and peered intently, willing her to look up, which she did. "How's John?"

Sighing again she visibly relaxed, "He and Bobby were arguing earlier, but other than that he's pretty quiet."

She finished putting the pawns away and stood taking a seat across from the older man. She raised her chin to look him in the eyes, he caught sight of the restlessness that seemed always present in her eyes.

"You should have been there," he reiterated.

She shook her head stiffly, "Too many people, to much a risk," she sniffed.

"You could have stood in the back, next the Multiple," he suggested.

"I'd rather not," it was nearly over, Rogue couldn't understand why he was bringing it up, "Is this an appointment or an interrogation?"

He nodded, understanding her apprehension, "I have a question to ask you. And I'd like you to think about it before you flat out deny me." She nodded and repositioned herself to a more serious position. "I'd like you to begin training as an X-man. That is beginning Danger Room sessions, combat training, and learning to fly the jet, properly."

She folded her hands across her lap and closed her eyes, "I'm not going to replace Jean," she told him, not asked, but told. 

"Of course not," he knew what she was thinking. She didn't want Scott or Ororo or Logan to think she was attempting to steal her mentor's spot. "You show incredible potential to be an X-man, I have been considering this course long before," he paused, "for a long time."

She shook her head and Xavier feared that was he response, "What about Bobby?" 

He breathed a silent sigh of relief, "What about him?"

"He's been here a lot longer, and trained so hard for you, and I'd know if you already asked him."

Charles took in a deep breath, he'd not expected to be questioned, "It's true Mr. Drake may have as much potential as you, but he seemed to be hesitate to use it. I know about your happening on the night of the attack. From Rhane I've learned of you helping the girls in you dormitory out of the mansion, from Robert himself I learned of your dedication to Logan, refusing to leave him alone. I was there when you used the jet to save us."

Rogue shifted uncomfortable, she didn't do those thing because she thought she'd get praise for them, she did them because they were the right things to do.

"Bobby uses his powers, always, to the defensive, and although that is important X-men need to be prepared to go to the offensive." He tilted his head to one side, "you proved you could do both that day at Bobby's house."

"He was going to kill them!" she wasn't sure why she was defending herself against a compliment.

"And you did what was necessary to stop him and save them," he looked into her eyes.

"Bobby wouldn't have let them die, either."

"Had you not stepped in, I'm not sure what would have happened." She stopped, the argument lost. "Just think about it, Rogue."

"I have," she leaned back into the chair, closing her eyes it was obvious that she was consulting the people in her head for a brief moment, "When do I start?"

He smiled, "Tomorrow."

She stood and dusted off the non-existent dirt from her jeans, "If you'll excuse me, I have a place to be."

"For support?" he knew where she was going but not sure why.

She walked to the door and Xavier wasn't sure if she heard him, pausing by the door, "Maybe," she opened the door slightly and Xavier thought she was done, "She's not dead you know." 

Xavier turned sharply to her, he himself was sure of the fact, he knew she was alive, just not sure where she was, she'd dropped from his radar. But how did Rogue know, was the question, he'd not told anyone for fear of raising hopes to only be dashed. That was mainly the reason he'd scheduled the meeting during the service, He was not able to watch people mourn someone who was not dead.

Narrowing her eyes at nothing she swallowed, "She reaches out to me. At night in my dreams, she warns me. She talked to a mutant who saw me, in the future," she closed her eyes and sniffed.

Xavier reached out over his desk as Rogue began to walk through the door, "Warns you of what?" he raised his voice to ensure she heard him, desperation leaking into his speech. He refused to lose another protegee.

"The men that have her," she turned to look him in the eyes, turmoil raged behind the restlessness, "They're coming after me next." With that she walked out the door and closed it behind her. Xavier sat shaking, he knew if Rogue actually knew where Jean was she tell him, that was obviously all she knew, and it seemed broken and hard to believe in itself, which is probably why she'd not mentioned the dreams before. He began to get a creeping suspicion that what was going to happen he could not control. He slammed his fists onto the desk , he might not have been able to prevent what was going to happen, but he'd damn well prepare Rogue for it.

~!~!~!~

Rogue walked into the auditorium and slowly made her way up to the lone figure standing in the front. Staring down at the enlarged photo of Jean, wreathed in white lilies. The service had been over for a good fifteen minutes, and every one else had filed out to give him some room to grieve.

"Hey," she called out, unsure if she was doing the right thing.

He turned to look at her a forced a small smile, "hey," his voice cracked.

"I'm sorry," he shook his head. "I should have been there, I just," her throat seemed weighed down, and she cleared it, "I just don't think I'd have been able to handle it."

He nodded, not trusting his voice, then running his fingers wearily through his hair he sighed and she walked closer to him. Despite the fact he was taller than her he seemed small at the moment, he collapsed to his knees and Rogue rushed to him. She stood in front of him and placed her hands gingerly on his shoulders, he pressed his face into her stomach and hugged her around the middle, resisting the urge to cry. She wrapped her arms around him, and closed her eyes. She could feel all of his emotions flow through the tears that spilled from his eyes onto her shirt.

"It's going to be ok," she began to rub small circles onto his back. A shadow fell over her and she turned to see her boyfriend standing in the door way she'd recently come through. "We're going to be alright, we're going to make it alright," she could feel him nodded into the stomach and kept her eyes on Bobby's icy ones as he came closer.

"Come on Mr. Summers, we'll walk you to your room," Bobby spoke softly.

Scott released Rogue and stood with their help, shaking his head he cleared his throat, "No, I think I can manage. Thank you though," he nodded to Bobby who did the same in return. Slowly, hesitantly, he hugged Rogue tightly, "Thank you," he whispered into her ear.

She smiled weakly, "Any time." He walked purposely to the door and walked out. 

Bobby turned to his girlfriend, to his world, and opened his arms, which she readily ran into. Sh threw her arms around him and cried into his shirt, one of his hands pressed her closer to him from it's position on her lower back and the other cradled her head against his shoulder. 

Rogue was not as strong as the other thought she was, and Bobby was the only one she allowed to she her weak side. He was her rock, and she was his emotion. As much as they needed one another in that moment it seemed right for a reason unseen to anyone. And as much as that need consumed them to a point of total love, that would be, in the end, their downfall.

~!~!~!~

So what did you think, I know no John, or Logan, but thing will pick up.

Problem: More chapters.

Solution: Reviews.

I gotta know what you think.


	2. 2

Title: Dependant

Author: Bazzer

Rating: PG-13 (For now)

Pairings: Marie/Bobby, implied Marie/John, Scott/Jean, one-sided Jean/Logan

Story Summary: Rogue may be the only one able to find Jean, but what happens when she goes missing, and John's the only person who know how to find her. There's one problem. He's in a coma.

Chapter Summary: Logan and Bobby find out, Rogue meets up with John.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue.

~!~!~!~

Rogue had never known anything quite as exhilarating as a Danger Room Session. With nothing but pure fighting knowledge she could fight like the primal beasts that resided in her as well as everyone else. 

Pushing off with one foot she flipped deftly over her opponent, crouching she used the wall as a back spring and again pushed off, this time shoving her shoulder into her mechanical opponent. Her fingers wrapped themselves around the wiring producing itself from the things chest. Since her mutation barely worked to the offence on actual people she was left with the bear minimum against her robotlike adversary. Smiling at his unfeeling eyes she tugged hard and used it to flip backward off of. It raised a blaster attached to it's arm and prepared to fire.

A quick and low swipe kick set it on it's back and it ceased to move. She turned to survey her handiwork, six robots lay in ruins.

Rogue made a show of dusting off her gloves with a motion like clapping cymbals. Grinning off her adrenaline rush she looked up to the control deck, she could barely make out the outline of Cyclops in the shadows of the window.

"Nice job, Rogue," she could hear the proud smile in his voice. Ever since her training had began three weeks ago, he thrown himself completely into it as her personal guide. She knew it was his release, and really didn't mind. 

The only problem seemed to stem from Logan. He had personally appointed himself as Rogue's 'legal guardian' and practically forbade Rogue from putting herself in any type of danger. He already lost one of the most important women in his life, he wasn't about to lose another. Rogue felt slightly guilty although she wasn't sure why.

So it was obvious he knew nothing about her training, Ororo dealt with teaching Rogue to fly the X-jet and the Professor oversaw it all. She heard him enter the Control Deck and speak to Scott, she could hear them over the loudspeaker, "How is she doing?"

She smirked, he knew she could hear them, "She's doing fine," Scott replied, " She just finished level 5 and is about to move onto level 6."

"Are you sure that's wise?"

"I'm sure," he turned to speak directly to her, "Are you ok?"

She raised two thumbs-up, "I'm good."

"Good, let's begin."

The metal walls faded into darkness and the level began.

~!~!~!~

Logan was practically prowling down the halls, students and teachers alike virtually leapt out of his way. He'd already checked the kitchen, dining room, class rooms, dorms, and tv room. All that was left was the garage and game room. He decided the check the game room first although he knew Rogue tended to stay out of crowed areas. 

Eyeing the room like one would when searching for prey, he muttered deeply under his breath. He often was able to be compared to some predator on the hunt, he did have that animal like quality to him. His eyes narrowed and darkened as he caught sight of a familiar face. Not the one he'd been looking for, but one that would suffice.

Peter looked up and caught his look just as he came up on the pool table, he gave a nod of grave respect, which Logan promptly returned. The boy had earned it. He reached out and grabbed the shoulder on Pete's playing partner, he could feel the shoulder freeze beneath his touch and he jerked it toward himself.

"Hey man," Bobby turned sharply to his attacker, then tripped over his feet in surprise at the shorter man in his face. He fell back onto the pool table, successfully ruining his game.

Peter groaned and tossed his stick down. Logan growled, "Where's Rogue?"

Bobby blinked, "Wha...what?"

Logan ground his back teeth together, and narrowed his eyes, "Where. Is. Rogue?" he made sure to enunciate.

"I-I don't know," he cleared his throat and pushed Logan's hand from his shoulder, "She said something about meeting Mr. Summers."

"I can't find him either," he stepped back out of Bobby's personal space, patting his chest he cursed when he realized he didn't have a cigar on him.

He looked up at Bobby when he realized he didn't know about Rogue's whereabouts either, contemplating set a perplexed look onto his face. Logan frowned, setting deep lines into his face, there was an uncomfortable sound coming from the other person in the immediate area. 

Both Iceman and Wolverine looked to the self-titled Colossus, "Where is she?" Bobby spoke.

"Yeah, bub?

"She's with Sco, uh, Mr. Summer."

"I got that," Logan curled his upper lip, bearing his teeth.

"She's...training, with Cyclops in," he swallowed realizing he was giving away one of Rogue's many secrets, "in the Danger Room."

Bobby's jaw dropped, she definitely hadn't mentioned that on their dates. Logan balled his fists, veins popping from his arms and neck, his claws slid from his knuckles, "She's **_WHAT_**?!"

~!~!~!~

Scott unconsciously ducked under the attack Rogue was faced with and jabbed out with his right, which was exactly what Rogue did. He only looked up at the Professor's voice, "Logan!" Scott was lifted up by the collar of his shirt and thrown backward as Logan slammed his fist down on the red button that promptly stopped the simulation.

From Rogue's position on the floor she turned upward sharply when her opponent shutdown, "What the hell, Cyke?" She could see the menacing outline of her adopted 'father', taking an involuntary step back in fear despite the great difference between the two, "Uh oh," she muttered, "Busted."

The input speakers amplified by his super-sensitive hearing forced Logan to agree darkly, "Extremely."

~!~!~!~

"She's too young."

"She's seventeen."

"She's too inexperienced."

"She's faced off against Magneto, survived police and SWAT attacks, as well as living on the streets _and _passed every test thrown at her," a smirk, "with flying colors."

A growl, "It's too dangerous."

"And being a mutant isn't?" a sigh.

A snarl, "Then I won't let her."

A groan, "Ya know I'm standing right here."

Logan and Scott looked up from there spots, a face off directly in front of Xavier's desk, who, despite the seriousness of the argu-conversation, wore a highly amused smile. Rogue stood behind the desk looking out the window, listening to them argue about her present position on the team. 

She'd stopped them seconds before it broke into a fist fight.

"You stay out of this," Logan pointed a harsh finger at her.

She simply rolled her eyes at him, "See," he countered, slamming his palms on the desk looking at the Professor, "she's to childish to be an X-man." 

"Look who's talking," Scott muttered.

Logan turned briskly, Scott's collar pulled tautly in his fists, "You got somethin' t' say t' me, bub?"

Rogue pushed her way between the two of them, successfully separating them, praying to God that Ororo or Kurt walk in, hell she'd settle for Jubilee at this point. "Look Logan," She looked him in the eye, something very few people could do, "My powers uncontrollable, I will never be able to control it, I might as well learn how to use it to my advantage now. I will join the X-men, either now or later, it's inevitable. Besides," she sighed and looked to Scott, "it's not like I'm going into battle, I still have a lot of training to go through." He nodded in agreement.

She looked back at Wolverine, "Please, just support me." 

He sighed, which still ended up sounding more like a growl, "Fine."

She smiled, "Thank you."

"On one condition," this got him suspicious looks from the other three in the room. "I," he pointed roughly to himself, "take over her combat training." He grinned at her and she threw her arms around his neck, carefully of course.

Releasing him, the Professor clasped his hands, "Now that's settled, I believe you, Rogue, were asked by Ororo to accompany her on her trip to the grocer." Rogue nodded, "Then you're excused," she smiled at her three teachers, who in turn smiled back, and walked out the front door.

"As for you two," the men both looked to the man as he wheeled himself out from behind the desk, "have a Danger Room Session for arguing." They both stared at him mouths slightly agape as he lead them out the back way.

~!~!~!~

Almost as soon as Rogue closed the door, a pair of arm wrapped themselves around her waist from behind, icy lips traced kisses along the base of her neck, barely touching as her hair held up as a makeshift shield. He blew out a wintry breath into her ear, sending shivers up and down her spine, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Rogue could detect the smallest amount of disappointment in his voice, "I'm so sorry, honey," she turned to face him and tucked her arms to his chest, laying her head against his shoulder, he lightly rested his chin on the top of her head. "I didn't want to hurt you."

He pulled back slightly, just enough to look her in the eyes, "Why would that hurt me?"

"Because you've worked so hard for that. You've been here so much longer, I guess, I just didn't want you to be mad at me for living your dream."

He smiled at her and chuckled lightly, "Baby, I'm not mad, a bit disappointed in the fact that you would ever think that. But I'm proud of you, baby, so proud." He hugged her again tightly, "You deserve this, they couldn't have gotten a better person."

"Thank you, but hey, now I'll be able to train you." They both laughed, and pulled away.

Then Bobby blinked, remembering something, "What's the matter, honey?" she asked.

"Nothing," he shook his head, then sighed, "It's just," he wet his lips, "Pete, knew where you were. And," he smiled guiltily, "I guess I was a bit jealous that you told his before me."

She looked up and laughed, "I didn't tell him."

"You didn't? Then how..."

"He walked in on Scott and I talking about the best times to start DR Sessions."

Bobby blushed, feeling a bit foolish, "Oh."

"Sweetheart, you know I'd never tell Pete first," they smiled at each other, "Besides," she added swatting him in the arm, "Boy can hardly keep a good secret." He nodded and kissed her fleetingly on the forehead.

He turned her and gave her a sharp push on the rear, "Better catch up to 'Ro. I have a Russian to talk to."

She looked back and stuck her tongue out at him, "Be nice."

"I always am," he replied blowing her an ice kiss.

~!~!~!~

"I can't believe we buy in bulk," Rogue shook her head.

"Well, child," Ororo smiled amused, "How else do you expect to feed a school, especially one with your boyfriend, my boyfriend, and Freddy Dukes?" 

Rogue shrugged, "Ororo: one, Rogue: zero."

They smiled at one another, "Ok," Ororo checked her list, "now all we have to do is pay and we can go home. She checked her purse, "Oh shoot, I think I left my pen at the meat counter, would you stay in line for me."

"Sure." Ororo stepped passed the people behind them and Rogue turned her back to the disappearing African native, so it went unnoticed when another figure came back the same way. Slipping gloved hands over her eyes, a sleek voice reached her ears, "Guess who?"

Due more to her recent dreams than actual surprise Rogue jumped free of his arms and turned, then smacked him hard on the arm. "John! You scared me half to death!"

He grinned wickedly, "I know."

"We shouldn't be seen together, especially since I'm with Ororo," Rogue took his hands.

"Why?" he asked squeezing her hands.

"Because she doesn't _know, _I only told Xavier."

"Only told Xavier, what?" came the cultured voice of the one and only Ororo Munroe. John spun quickly to face her, she raised a well-groomed eyebrow, "Mr. Allerdyce, it's good to see you again, although these are certainly not the circumstances in which I had imagined." She then turned to Rogue, "I believe that you have some explaining to do, child."

"Xavier knows that we've kept in touch, Ororo."

"The circumstances..." she left off feeling slightly lost, she'd never been one to take second-hand news well.

"Are inconsequential, we may be enemies as Pyro and Rogue..." he started as he placed an arm protectively around Marie's shoulders.

"But as Marie and John, we're still best friends," Rogue finished.

"Splitting hairs, and I do not feel comfortable harboring such a relationship."

"Look I'll get out of your hair, just let me walk Rogue to the car," he waved his free hand to the parking lot seen through large open-faced windows, "in perfect view."

The older woman sighed looking between the two, then groaning she placed a trusting hand on Rogue's shoulder, "I'll be out in a little bit." Casting a wry smile to John she turned to the cashier.

The two grinned like two year olds and walked together outside.

Once out of earshot John released Rogue and nudged her gently on the shoulder, "You ok? You look tired." He grinned with a menacing thought, "We and Bob going at it?"

She faltered slightly then grinned back at him, "Wouldn't you like to know."

He sighed deeply, "I take it he doesn't know?"

"What am I supposed to say, John?" she asked taking his serious tone, "Oh, sweetheart, you remember the guy who used to be your best friend, you know, the guy who I'm never supposed to mention under penalty of being ignored, yeah I'm still talking to him a couple times a week. We're just the greatest friends."

"You're right, he'd blow a gasket."

"Ya think?"

"Oh, shit, before I forget, congrates on the promotion."

"Thanks, it sort of got spread a bit before I came, speaking of how did you know where to find me?" she stopped and looked at him sideways, which caused him to stop. Caught in the act he intertwined his finger behind his head and laughed nervously.

"You see, before I left I implanted you with a tracking device, and I know where you are at all times." She gave him a look that clearly stated 'yeah, right.' "Ok," he held his hands up defensively, "I saw the car and remembered you said something about going to the store with 'Ro."

"Now that makes more sen-"

Conversation was cut short as both Rogue and John were attacked from behind, long needles were stuck at the base of their necks, and they immediately passed out. One of the men looked to the other, "We were only supposed to get Unit X, what should we do with the other one."

"Leave him," he promptly dropped John. The other hefting Rogue's lithe form over his shoulder. Speaking into his watch he grunted, "Subject is in custody, we're coming back."

"Nicely done," came a crackled reply.

~!~!~!~

Ororo was barely out the door when she looked up to see John lying in the middle of the parking lot, unconscious. Running she skidded to a halt next to him. She dropped her purse as she checked for a pulse, she tapped him lightly on the cheek, "John? John, can you hear me? John, where is Rogue? John?"

His head lolled to the side, "gone," spilled weakly from his lips before falling back into darkness.

And Ororo reached hastily into her purse, and nearly dropped her Comm-unit as she pulled it out, "Cyclops," she felt her voice crack, "Scott, we have a situation."

~!~!~!~

Ok, that it's for now, uh, please Review. And I know that there are some authors out there who can post a new chap just about every day, but I really don't have that much free time. I'll try to get up chapters ASAP, but there are no solid promises. Thanks to those who reviewed, you guys make writing worth it.


	3. 3

Title: Dependant

Author: Bazzer

Rating: PG-13 (For now)

Pairings: Marie/Bobby, implied Marie/John, Scott/Jean, one-sided Jean/Logan, I guess I should put in Ororo/Kurt

Story Summary: Rogue may be the only one able to find Jean, but what happens when she goes missing, and John's the only person who know how to find her. There's one problem. He's in a coma.

Chapter Summary: Professor and Bobby talk, there's a scene with a comatose John, Bobby's power's are expanding, Xavier discovers Rogue's past in a dream, and Rogue wakes up.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue.

~!~!~!~

It'd been a week since the incident at the grocery and John was still under. The injection had been an altered allergen, specifically formatted to attack the system of a mutant. The symptoms largely revolved around the coma Pyro currently resided in. Charles had called in an old doctor friend, a certain Henry McCoy, as a specialist to find a way to wake him up.

It had happened on a Friday after classes and they'd taken the entire weekend searching for her. During the following week the X-men had been told to keep a sense of normality, continuing to teach classes and the such, searching the state when the time presented itself. But it was obviously not normal, when Rogue had not returned rumors sprang up immediately, mostly that she'd run again. Only Bobby, Jubilee, and Kitty, her three closest friends knew the truth. And they did their best to squash the more vulgar gossip.

And Bobby was the only one permitted to go to the MedLab and visit John, which he'd yet to do.

Xavier himself had spent all of his free time in Cerebro, none of the X-men had a full-nights sleep, especially Ororo, who largely blamed herself.

Xavier rubbed his face with his hands, lightly fingering to dark circles under his eyes that he knew were there. The entire group, all four of them, looked haggard and worn out. Sighing he looked them each in the eyes, "Try to get some sleep."

Logan stood, really the only one who could function semi-normal without so much sleep, "But-" he harshly bit off his own comment.

The team would do Rogue no good if they fell asleep out in the world. "I fear that with the little luck we've received on our blind searches it not a good sign." Scott snorted, earning him a glare from Logan. "I will continue my search on with Cerebro, but I am forced to believe that your's by blind leads will continue to prove fruitless." He closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to ward off a headache.

The next thing he said threw the four others for a loop and almost insured them no sleep for the night.

"Although, we must continue to rekindle the flame of hope, we must begin to entertain to idea that we will not find her. Please, go. Try to get some sleep."

Every one was too surprised by the fact that Logan did not raise an objection to state their own. Then the Professor turned his chair to face behind him, contemplating the midnight sky outside of his window. They took it as their cue to leave.

Kurt waited to get outside the door before kissing Ororo and telling her he was going to bed, hoping she'd take to Professor's advice and follow. He ported after she said she'd would soon. Logan hunched his shoulders and headed off to the garage. Scott knew what he was planning, he merely tossed Wolverine the keys to his motorcycle and headed toward to kitchen, the weather-goddess in tow.

None of them saw the Iceman, wrapped in shadow hiding behind the stand beside the door. He clenched his teeth and his nostrils flared uncontrollably, fighting off tears, and the feeling of uselessness. He'd been forbidden to leave the grounds, the X-men feared he would do something stupid. An accusation he did nothing to deny.

He figured he'd gone unnoticed until the Professor's strong voice called out, "Please join me, Robert."

Hanging his head in a dejected manner, Bobby languidly pushed the door open, the older mutant had his back to the younger and Bobby stood slightly agitated, the room temperature dropping a few degrees.

"She's _not _dead, Xavier," the icy resolve in his voice reminded Charles of his and Rogue's conversation on the day of Jean's memorial. The first and last time he'd heard of Rogue's dreams, he'd never pressed her to tell him and never attempted to find out about them on his own. Now he wished he had, more deeply than most other emotions he felt regret.

"Bobby..." he began, turning to the student.

"She's _not,_" the temp again went down, as Xavier blew out a frozen breath.

"I know," he replied gritting his teeth, exhaustion allowed slight anger to show. "I've been informed that you're skipping classes, and that you haven't eaten in days." Bobby avoided his eyes, "You won't do her any good if she returns and you've died of malnutrition."

Bobby squeezed his eyes shut, conjuring her face. This one angry with him for not taking care of himself. A fleeting smile crossed his features as the girl in his head promised to take care of him. Then it was gone, his sapphire eyes snapped open to the Professor's dark ash-colored ones. 

A look nothing short of frozen set on his face, until the Professor voiced what he called him in for, "Dr. McCoy says that the young man in the MedLab, a certain Mr. Allerdyce, should be waking up soon. If you are positive in the fact that you will not be sleeping tonight, maybe you should keep him company, until the time."

Bobby responded with a soldier's nod, and turned on his heel, not even pausing as his "Thank you," flitted behind him.

Xavier sighed again, and closed his eyes as the temperature slowly returned to its original status. Folding his fingers across his lap he opened his eyes to the door Bobby had left open. Speaking into the void of nothing around him, he kept his eyes trained ahead of him. "Peter," the metal man appeared from the shadows of the back doorway. 

"Yes?" he replied flexing his fingers.

"Keep an eye on him, I feel he will be very... key... in Rogue's return."

There was a pause, then the standing mutant voiced his mind, "There are rumors, that you speak of her, as if she is dead."

Xavier's breaths deepened, "They are rumors." Then Colossus excused himself to follow his friend and do his mentors biding. Xavier wheeled himself out to follow his own advice and get some sleep.

~!~!~!~

Scott looked down at the soda bottle he was cradling, he felt it as it began to freeze beneath his touch. Glaring through his red visor it reached a low and he looked up to Ororo, who turned a curious glance to him, groaning as the realization set in, "Got to bed, Storm, I think I should handle this."

Nodding sadly she made her way slowly to the teacher's dorm area. Scott stood and placed the frozen drink in the sink, turning to follow the same path as the Iceman, on his way to the MedLab. 

~!~!~!~

It had been damn near two months since Bobby had seen the boy before him face-to-face. 

__

Do you always do what your told? That fucking sneer began to burn its way into his mind. The metal bar at the bottom of John's bed shattered into millions of frozen shards beneath his hands, leaving his fingers shaking.

It took the warm hand of Scott setting itself lightly on his shoulder for him to snap out of his daze. Staring down at his hands he was shocked to see them coved in glossy ice, and completely flexible, his voice came out as a choked sob, "What the hell is happening to me?"

~!~!~!~

Ororo walked out of her room, her light nightgown blowing slightly from the ever-present breeze that darted gently around her. Walking past three doors and on the other side of the hall, she knocked gingerly on the door to Kurt's room.

"Kurt?" she called out lowly, not wishing to wake to people around her.

She got no response except the billowing of the curtains by the nightly winds. Kurt was on the balcony. Silently she padded into the room, and to the open doors leading to the small balcony. Smiling she turned her head barely to watch him, hands folded in prayer and head bowed in grave concentration. 

He smiled as he crossed himself as an ending prayer, letting out a satisfied breath he hopped down from his crouched position in the railing. He opened one of his arms as he used the other and to safely tuck his rosary into his pocket. 

Ororo fell quietly into his embrace, "Ju knov, I zink zat Vrogue vas one of ze only people who vere not surprised by my appearance. It vas as if, she vas comforted by it." He tipped his head back in thought, considering the stars for a moment, "As if," he breathed, "As if I 'elped 'er by looking different."

Ororo nodded, despite the fact she did not understand why, "I zink," he looked down at the woman in his arms with a grin, "I feel pity for ze men who 'ave 'er," she shot him a confused look, "Zey are in for very, very big surprise."

Ororo smiled back at him, small and sad, but it was a smile, "I think you're very right," was her reply before burying her face into his chest.

~!~!~!~

Scott and Bobby sat in silence, the older stared out across the room at the comatose Pyro, while Bobby stared down at his balled fists, watching the ice slow ebb away. Logan had ambled in and tossed the keys back to Scott, his hair miffed and the smell of beer evident on him. 

The sound of Logan releasing his claws got the attention of the two other men in the room, Scott stood, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I say," he prowled over to John's bed, lightly setting his claws on Pyro's chest, "We kill 'im. He was the last one with 'er, 'e did somethin'," he growled.

Scott snorted, "Right, he kidnaped her and then put himself in a coma." Logan glared at him.

"It ain't right!" He retracted his claws and pushed off the bed, stepping heavily toward Scott, "_He,_" pointing a shaking finger at the bed, "_The BROTHERHOOD, LYIN' in a COMFORTABLE BED COMPLETELY PROTECTED! WHILE ONE of OUR OWN is GOD KNOW'S WHERE, HAVIN' GOD KNOW'S WHAT BEIN' DONE T' 'ER! I AIN'T GONNA LOSE MARIE, LIKE I LOST JEAN, AND YOU SHOULD FEEL THE SAME DAMNED WAY!_" he bellowed out.

"God dammit, Logan," the man replied without flinching, his voice low and lethal, "You don't think I do," he ground his teeth together, "I will not lose her, I _will not_ let her _die!_" Taking a long breath to calm himself he resisted the urge to grabbed Logan's collar for emphasis, "He may know something to help."

"What if 'e doesn't, Scott, what if we're keepin' 'im alive, and he doesn't know shit?" worry leaked almost unnoticed into his voice, and Scott too began to think what if as well.

"No," the voice sounded from behind Logan, Bobby was standing beside John, a frosty glare coming from his blue eyes, "As much as I hate to admit it, John is Rogue's best friend, now and forever, if she told anyone anything, she told him every thing."

He closed his eyes, fighting back tears, and silently cursing Rogue for not telling _him_ and himself for not asking her. 

Logan was still skeptical, "But _what if_?" he sounded lost, grasping at straws.

"If he doesn't," eyes shining as they bore into Logan's voided black ones, and raised an eyebrow at his small and sick attempt of humor, "Then you can kill him."

Logan grinned catching on, taking a small amount of comfort in the approval.

~!~!~!~

Xavier laid back in his bed, in a desperate attempt to follow his own advise. Sleep had not come easily for many nights, long before Rogue's kidnaping and Jean's sacrifice. But this night seemed different.

Sleep called him to his bed, the silk pillow case beneath his head felt softer than usual. Drowsiness beckoned him to unconsciousness, and gently lulled him to a rather uncomfortable dream.

Xavier's eyes fluttered open, looking around he found himself in a field of tall grass, the sounds of a creek filtered in along with the morning song of birds and the fading call of mating grasshoppers. He heard a small girl laugh, giggle more, behind him and he wiped his body around. Finally taking notice in the fact he was _standing _in the field. 

The actualization of the situation set in, he was dreaming. Or was he in a dream? He had a bad habit of doing that, being asleep gave his mental walls small time to relax, but they were usually strong enough to hold throughout the night.

The girl giggled again, this time closer, but from the other direction. 

He smiled in what he hoped was a friendly matter, "Who's out there?" he called amused. This was obviously a happy spot, the sun rose brightly in the East and the early morning skies weren't dotted with clouds.

A voice returned an answer, along with an other giggle, "You shouldn't be here," was that a warning? Xavier thought.

"Not a warning," it was definitely a small girl, "Just a piece of advice."

"Why? Why shouldn't I be here?" He asked taking a step toward the voice. 

"Because the bad men are coming," the voice was directly behind him. He turned his head, looking over his shoulder, a tree had sprung up beside the creek. He tuned slowly, spying a set of bare feet hanging from a tree branch. 

"What bad men?" the feet disappeared, "I won't hurt you."

"I know," Xavier jumped and spun around. A small girl no more than five stood there, she barely stood up to his waist, with her chocolate colored eyes were old with knowledge she shouldn't have and her dark brown hair hung loosely in a makeshift ponytail. She smiled with thin lips, her bottom one cracked and bruised. Pale skin showed deep purple bruises on her cheek, eye, and arms. Her arms were draped defensively across her chest, no doubt shielding contusions there.

Xavier kneeled in the dirt in front of her, taking in a shaking breath he reached out his hands to her. She flinched back sharply, shaking her head with a sudden smile. "Don't touch me."

He knew those smiling eyes, he knew that hair, although this was definitely a different style, swallowing the lump in his throat he blinked and stood, "Rogue?"

The girl smiled with glee, he could tell she was holding back a laugh, "I'm not Rogue." Shaking her head she twirled around arms spread wide, "Rogue doesn't exist here, not yet anyway." She stopped as if remembering something, "I'm," she waved him closer and he bent down to be eye level with her. Tipping his head he brought his ear as close to her as he dared, "My names Marie Creed. But the bad men," she paused considering telling her secret, "The bad men are gonna take me, and hurt me, and the I'll go to the mutant hater. And then I'll be Marie D'Acanto until I become Rogue."

She sprung back, and turned doing a small cartwheel and a somersault. Xavier blinked in surprise, was she actually happy about it?

"Who are you?" she asked suddenly stopping her joyful acrobatics.

He made a wide gesture to himself, "My names Charles Xavier." He smiled at her, "I'm one of Rogue's friends."

She laughed at him, and his smile faltered slightly, "What's so funny?" he asked wanting to be in on the joke.

She covered her mouth to stop the giggles, "Rogue doesn't _have_ any friends, she's not allowed to have them. Especially, telepathic ones."

Xavier blinked, how had she known he was a telepath? She shook her head at him, "You told me silly, or," she paused and tapped her chin in thought, "Or you will tell me, on my first day of school."

"Well, then, why aren't you allowed to have telepathic friends?"

"Mommy says."

He again blinked, "What?"

"Mommy says," she threw up her hands in annoyance, "One of mommy's rules: Never make friends with people who have the potential to know more about you, then you do."

"Your mother doesn't seem to be a very trusting person," Xavier observed.

"That's what Uncle Erik says."

"Uncle Erik? As in Erik Lehnsherr?"

"Yeah," she wrinkled her nose in thought, "Aunt Irene calls him," she bit the inside of her cheek, then her eyes lit up, "Magneto!"

Xavier stepped back, and took a deep breath to calm himself, a question biting at the inside of his head, "Marie, whose your mother?"

"Daddy called her Raven, but Uncle Erik calls her Mystique." Xavier couldn't breath, this couldn't be happening. One of his X-men was a relative to Erik, she couldn't consciously know about it, could she? Was she a spy? Her mental shields were impeccably good. 

The girl giggled again, slightly annoying Charles, "_Of course _she doesn't know. The bad men take her," she sounded as if he was the child and she the adult, "and she doesn't remember, and Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Erik and Aunt Irene all think she dies. 'Cause no one can find her."

The sky flashed, and began to pulse with light, Xavier wiped around. "What's going on?!" he yelled.

Twisting around to face Marie, she looked scared, "I don't know this has never happened before!"

The images disappeared in flashes and he was left alone in a dark area of nothingness, "**_NO!_**" he heard her screaming.

"_Marie?!_" he called out as pain shot up and down his body, "_Marie, where are you?!_"

"**_NO, STOP, PLEASE!_**" Choking sobs reached his ears, the sound was surrounding him, choking out a response.

Xavier shot up in his bed, the black ness faded into the shadows of his room, navy and gold appeared from the void, his breathing came out shallow and unstable. Sweat dripped from his head into his eyes. 

"Oh God," was all he could muster, as the cries of that small girl rang continually in his ears. His mind pulsed with uncertain knowledge, and he was not sure what was, or had, happened. Whose dreams were they? What happened to Marie? Of all the questions that flowed through his mind there was one thing he was certain of.

He would not sleep for a very long time

~!~!~!~

Rogue was in pain. Her head was killing her, not that of a headache, although she was sure she had one. But that of the feeling that her mind was stretched to far and was on the verge of snapping like a rubber band.

She tried to lift her hand in an attempt to rub her suffering forehead, but found it impossible to move. Small pinprick like feelings prickled at her wrists and elbows, they quickly spread like molten lead up her veins, and throughout her body. She felt herself go rigid and curled her fingers tightly, snapping her mouth shut as she forced her eyes open. 

Learned control taught her to not scream, despite the intense need to relieve the pressure building up behind her throat.

Someone behind her was clicking their tongue, each 'tsk' felt like a stab to the side of her brain, and she desperately wished them to stop, but didn't trust her voice to tell them to. She flexed her fingers and tested her limbs. 

Nope, she still couldn't move. All appendages were securely pinned, or strapped down, including her head. 

"You think I'm stupid, child? I know what can happen when you are free to move about."

She knew that voice, leathery and scratchy, completely unpleasant to the ears, the sound of it made Rogue want to lash out, but she was unable. She used a groan to clear her throat, "My, my Teed you sound awful. Heard you went to hell, how's your dad?"

His decrepit face appeared over her, blocking out the light from the hanging light above her. The thin pink line that served as a mouth twisted upward into the malicious grin of a sadist, seeming to double the jagged lines set into his face. It pushed the skin of his cheeks upward, bunching at his eyes, making them look like they were closed, but Rogue could barely make out the hint of his black eyes. 

She involuntarily cringed away from his decaying features, and every muscle in her body tightened around her bones. "What's the matter, X, scared?" he questioned an algolagnic twinkle sparkling in his void-like eyes.

She ground her back teeth together, a snarl formed on her mouth, "Give me a sec to get used to it, Doc. It's been a while since I looked into the face of pure evil."

"What? They don't have a mirror in the hole you crawled out of?"

Her arms jerked against the straps and attempted to lung at the man, he jumped back with the spring that a man his age shouldn't have. A menial amount of fear snapped across his face, and Rouge rolled out a primal growl. A sick smile spread to his features, "Well, well, well, she does have some fight left in her."

He circled around her feet and Rogue followed him with her eyes, "Don't worry, X," he nodded to her, "We can fix that." He stopped next to her head on the left side, and picked up a small glass jar and a syringe. He stuck the needle end of the medical instrument into the top of the upside down jar, and extracted a large amount of the clear liquid. 

Rogue half-expected him to jam it into her aorta, instead he pick a tube that was connected to something behind her. She followed the half she could see and was vaguely aware of the iv stuck in her arm, as well as the small black suckers attached to various areas of her body, constantly reading the reactions of it. 

Immediately she could feel her muscles unconsciously relax and she fought to stay alert in her consciousness.

She heard the man beside her sigh, "I do suppose I owe you something, you _did _save my life from that," he paused and she was sure he was conjuring a picture, "that _freak_." 

Rogue weakly beared her teeth, "He _has _a _name_."

He ignored her, "I'll give you a choice."

"I'll take the one where you die."

He continued unfazed, "Choice one: you allow me to preform my experiments on you voluntarily, or," he did not give her time to comment. He picked up a small remote control from the cart holding the jar and used syringe. First he adjusted the slab of metal she was connected to so she was at a forty-five degree angle, staring at the metal walls, that looked strangely like the wooden ones in the School.

Which told Rogue there was something behind them, and Rogue was almost afraid to see what it was.

"Or," his voice reached her ears, "You watch me so them on _her_."

The walls gave way, and split apart from the middle revealing a long glass cylinder, standing on end. It was filled with a green liquid and Rogue knew that the water was probably drugged, but that wasn't what scared her. It was the person inside the tank.

Hooked up to as many wire as Rogue herself was and with an air mask allowing her to breath underneath the water, the woman floated, she would have looked slightly angelic with her red hair fanned out behind her, had it not been for the medical wiring and metal suspensions holding her still.

"Jean," muttered Rogue, finally losing the battle with reality she'd been fighting for what felt like weeks. 

"I'm sorry," he was so close to her, but she couldn't find the strength to turn to him. "I didn't hear your answer. Perhaps you'd like choice number three. Which is really just a combination of choices one and two." 

Rogue closed her eyes, it took to much energy she didn't have to keep to them open. "Burn in hell, you sick son of a bitch."

"I think I just heard a vote for choice number three." He closed the doors and resumed her position lying parallel tot he ground. "Of course you should know," Rogue lost consciousness with his voice fading in her ears, "There never really was a choice."

~!~!~!~

I do believe that was the longest chapter I've ever written.

OK, so I hadn't expected to make Xavier's dream last for so long, but hey, you get bitten by the muse bug and you ride it out, or something that like, I think. Honestly, I hadn't expected it to turn out like that,, it was kind of a surprise to me too. If you like it, YEAH! If not, uh, well, I'm not sure what I'll do.

And after it I wasn't going to put the thing with Rogue in, but someone asked where Jean was so I put it in.

See! I do read the reviews and listen. So I _need _you to write them. Thanks Bunches! Bazzer.


	4. 4

Title: Dependant

Author: Bazzer

Rating: PG-13 (For now)

Pairings: Marie/Bobby, implied Marie/John, Scott/Jean, one-sided Jean/Logan, Ororo/Kurt

Story Summary: Rogue may be the only one able to find Jean, but what happens when she goes missing, and John's the only person who know how to find her. There's one problem. He's in a coma.

Chapter Summary: Mystique realizes who Rogue is to her, John wakes, Rogue gets experimented on, and Bobby and John have a minor fight scene.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue.

~!~!~!~

Mystique swirled the last remnants of her drink around in the glass, watching it as it whirl pooled and finally getting bored she drowned it. She stared down at the now empty glass, her thoughts turned quickly from bored to angry. 

She closed her fist around the bourbon container until it shattered into glittering fragments. She turned her gaze to her royal blue hand, now dotted crimson with blood. Erik had been ignoring her sour mood, she always got this way around Marie's birthday.

"You seem a bit melancholy lately, my dear," he replied casually, looking up at her from the paper work he had on his desk.

He received a grunt in reply, "Well," he returned, not really fazed, "If you've nothing else to do you may as well begin a search for our long-since missing member."

She stood silently and began her way towards the door. 

Erik laid the papers down and sighed, "How old would she be?"

The blue-skinned woman stopped, resting her hand elegantly on the doorframe. Turning so that he could see her profile, she closed her eyes, mentally counting. Her fingers twitched and she clenched her jaw, then sighed, "Eighteen, tomorrow."

Then she left, leaving Magneto alone with his thoughts and paperwork.

~!~!~!~

Mystique decided to look into the bedroom of light firefly, in order to see if there were clues as to his whereabouts. She knew Magneto was just trying to find something for her to do, Brotherhood members often had so much angst with in their personal lives they went missing for days, or weeks on end. 

His drawers were slightly open, showing he had brains enough to grab a few articles of clothing before going out the door. His bed sheets were askew, probably being jutted to the side in the middle of the night, which would explain the fiery orange cell phone laying in the middle of his unmade bed.

She picked it up, it was turned off, most likely in the heat of the moment, and in the minute of stupidity. She turned it on and scrolled down to recent call. The last one was eight days old, at three in the morning. 

She smirked, it was under the name 'Rogue.'

"Well, isn't this a nice turn of events," she muttered in her two-toned voice. She pocketed the cell and was about to report to Erik when a glint of shining caught the corner of her eye. Tucked safely under the bed sheets was a sleek silver picture frame. The glass cover was smudged with finger prints, and the metal rusted from tears. 

She recognized the two images trapped beneath the glossy film. Pyro and Rogue, 'Don't they look cozy,' she thought.

The girl was lying down with her head resting on the other's stomach, both asleep. She could barely make out the words 'World History' imprinted on the front of the book face down and open, balanced on the girl's thigh.

Her left hand was behind her head, clutched tightly in the boy's left, while her right was placed gently on his, which was on top of her stomach. The material of her shirt was bunched up in his protective hold, revealing pale, and deadly, skin.

She smiled down at the content look of the couple, although she was vaguely aware that she was with, oh what _was _his name, Iceman? Yes , that sounded about right, and not the pyrotechnic that resided in this place.

She blinked, disgusted with her show of affection, it was just better if no one knew of her emotional side. It brought about too much pain. She was about to throw the picture down and leave when something again caught her eye. On the visible portion of Rogue's stomach there was a thin white line. Starting below her navel, probably below her pant line, and going strait up, to the folds of her black shirt. 

It was a scar, Mystique stared, unconsciously tracing the barley seeable line, she knew that scar. Gods, did she _know _it. She felt an uncommon emotion prickling the back of her throat. 

Hope?

~!~!~Fourteen years earlier~!~!~

New Orleans, not the safest city in the world, but one very good for hiding. And although they were a good thirty miles from the actual city it was still a dangerous part of the town. 

Raven Creed stood on the front porch of her Victorian style home, she knew but rarely thought of the purpose of the home. Beneath the foundation, in a cellar that looked more like a room out of the Pentagon than a basement, was the Base of Operations of the Brotherhood.

Raven was completely well founded, and was on the brink of calling her life perfect. Aside from the blue skin and scales that adorned her body in secret, she was happy. Nice home, a good husband, powerful friends, and the pride of her existence, a small baby girl. Born of her genes, destined to be one of the most powerful mutants in the world and the reason Raven smiled every day.

But she was currently missing, gone outside to play near the creek only fifteen minutes ago with the neighborhood kids, she was no where within sight of the large wrap around porch.

"Mystique?" she waved off the highly cultured voice of her boss and friend reached out to her from the screen door, "Raven? Where ar-oh." She turned at the sound of the door being pushed open, then a sigh born from smiling lips carried his voice, "Where is she?"

"I don't know, I can't see her anywhere."

He walked to stand beside her, "She has her father's spirit and your speed, she'll be back soon. Come, the meeting is about to begin."

She followed him into the house, "How long?"

"No more than a half hour, we will long for her then, how much trouble could she get into?"

Neither spoke the words they knew were coming, with her genes, the answer was a lot. Erik placed his hand on her shoulder, almost having to push her into the house. He himself was almost halfway through the door when he heard the yelling. 

Raven was back outside before he could blink and, slightly frustrated at Mystique's maternal instinct, he turned to follow her. He recognized the voice of the boy, Cody. He was of Marie's age with blond hair and bright blue eyes. Erik was unconsciously wary of the boy.

Doing a double take made the Master of Magnetism shake with chill of the utmost fear.

The young boy's hands and the front of his shirt was covered in scarlet blood, tears stream from his eyes, and his voice was hoarse from yelling. Mystique held the boy by his shoulders, shaking him in an attempt to get a strait answer amid his blubbering.

All she needed to decipher was Marie, hurt, and tire swing before she took off like a shot in the direction he'd only just come from.

Magneto, who held his wits about him a hell of a lot better, had the boy go inside and wash while he went to the lower level to inform the girl's father. Who seemed to follow his wife's example, and Irene was left to call the ambulance.

They didn't find out until later the circumstances of her injuries.

Apparently she had gotten into a fight with a fourth grader when she overheard him talking about her and her 'freak family.' The kid had pulled a knife when he was getting his ass kicked by a little girl.

It had been a clean cut, to the right and two inches below her bellybutton and strait up to the mid point about an inch below her breastplate. It hadn't hit any major organs but had cut through tissue and would scar.

Sabertooth couldn't have been prouder, his baby girl had his fighting spirit, while Mystique proceeded to shape shift into various people and beat up the members of the assailant's family.

~!~!~Present~!~!~

That had been two weeks before she was taken as she played in the yard. One of the doctors on call from that night had a history with the men who experimented on Victor. When he'd heard the name Creed he was on the phone with Stryker and Teed, the two head scientists from Weapon X.

Raven always had blamed Victor, and divorced him when he returned from his search from Alaska. After searching for five months, they'd given up hope and Magneto proclaimed her dead.

As she stared down at the picture the familiarity seemed to jump out at her, how could she have not seen it? Her throat constricted and she smashed the glass, hurriedly pulling the photo from the frame, and flipped it over.

__

'John & Marie: Before'

Mystique knew what she had to do. Talk to Erik, then her ex-husband, find Pyro, and speak to Charles.

Then confront her daughter.

The Rogue.

~!~!~!~

At the current time the young woman whose origins were slowly coming together was stuck in a large white room. She was again strapped down to a table, and the cloths she'd been captured in were trashed and her body terribly bruised. 

Apparently Teed gets angry when one of his experiments escapes. And gets extremely angry when they help all of his other experiments escape and blow up his labs. 

And as if her physical torture wasn't enough, he had to do it in front of Jean, adding mental humiliation onto her already enormous pile of emotional scars. For God's sake, she had to face the woman for every day for the rest of her life. 

That had only been the day before, and Rogue was again left to herself in the room. She was well aware of the long sheet of glass that adorn the one side of the circular room. Behind it stood a plethora of scientists constantly monitoring her energy readings and mutational feedback.

Four armed guards wheeled in another person strapped tightly to a hospital bed, this one was another girl, young with bright green eyes, dancing in fear. Rogue felt in immense swell of pity and anger. This mere girl looked no more than fifteen. 

"Don't worry, sweetie," Rogue whispered soothingly, "It'll be over soon." The girl whimpered as one of the guards hit the white-stripped haired girl with the butt of his gun. A warning to get her mouth shut, a warning she'd received many times before.

The guards stood back and were replaced by Teed and two other coats. 

"Unit X," his wrinkled features spook to her, "Meet Theresa, a precognitive." Rogue turned away from them both and squeezed her eyes shut. She felt guilty enough absorbing people she didn't know, and Teed knew her dread of her powers on those she'd been introduced to.

The girl was sedated with the clear liquid that seemed to come hand-in-hand with the doctor, Marie was not as lucky.

Teed walked away, followed by his disciples like lost puppies, he walked to a wall and pressed a code into a keypad next to the one way glass. Rogue didn't have to look to know what was happening, a small computer folded out from the wall and with a few more codes a set on metallic arms would fall from the ceiling.

"Any last words, X?" she clenched her teeth and turned to the girl, who had been positioned directly next to her.

"I'm sorry," Theresa looked up to the ceiling, and the mechanical arms, her fight was gone, and spirit dead as if she already knew what was going to happen. Well, Rogue reasoned, she _is _clairvoyant.

The arm dropped and freed the arm closest to Rogue, then picked it up and slowly moved it till it was floating above Marie's bare arm.

The motion seemed to come hesitantly, then quickly and there was skin-to-skin contact. Both girls arched their backs in unison. The older ground her teeth, she'd refused to scream since her first night, the younger was not as controlled. The hand was removed and the guards stepped forward pushing her away. Teed came and placed a sliver band around her forehead.

Then she was alone in the white room, feeling dead to the world. She'd ben in there for two days, allowing the visions to temporarily blind her. 

Pain.

Pain, and a hell of a lot of it. Her brain waves were recorded, but they would never know what she saw, and she knew that they were things she was not supposed to know.

~!~!~!~

Bobby stared across the room at the still comatose John. The Iceman considered it amazing that Xavier's "should be waking up soon" lasted for three days. This was only adding to the growing contempt he was beginning to feel for the man. 

The door to his left opened and he recognized a familiar step, "Classes are over, I finished my homework, and I brought a snack down for later," he spoke without looking up. Ororo gently laid a calming hand across his shoulders. 

"Any change?"

Bobby sneered at the unmoving boy, "No." He took in a breath that caused his entire body to shudder. "I'm scared, 'Ro," he confessed.

"We all are, child."

"I know, I kno-" he stopped suddenly grasping at his chest he fell to the floor, and curled tightly around himself. His breathing can out in sharp gasps and Ororo was shaking him madly, calling out his name.

Scott came running in and stop dead in his tracks at the sight before him. Not only was Bobby withering in pain on the floor. But in his bed John was experiencing a seizure. His limbs shaking uncontrollably against the railing.

Then suddenly it was over, Logan had come in at some point and shoved John back onto the bed, holding him still. Scott bent over to check on Bobby, "What the hell just happened?"

"Rogue," Bobby choked out, "She," cough, "they're _hurting _her."

"_NO!_" John sat straight up in his bed, throwing Logan off of himself, doubling over his stomach in pain, desperately grasping at his chest.

Logan was livid, jumping up he clutched the Pyro tightly by the shoulders, no doubt leaving bruises. Shaking him like a rag doll he yelled, "What?! Where is she?!"

It took both Ororo and Scott to pry him off of the poor boy, who was obviously scared out of his wits. Logan struggled futilely against them, and behind them Bobby found his legs. He ignored them and walked to John, a dangerous stagger to his step. 

"What happened, John?" he drew out his words, putting a warning growl into them. "Where is she?"

"She?" for his own defense John looked genuinely confused, then something behind his eyes clicked and they widened as Logan stop squirming, "Rogue?" he breathing became erratic as he reached forward to grab Bobby by the front of his shirt. "She's not here? Bobby, tell me this is one of your fucking sick jokes."

Bobby's lip curled in hatred, though more to the situation than the boy in front of him, "I hoping it was one of your's."

John released him and turned to sit on the edge of the bed, he buried his face in his hands and began muttering darkly. Bobby looked to the three adults in the room. Ororo looked horrified, it dawned on Bobby then, from the look in her eyes, that this was one of their last chances. 

Scott looked like he always did, solider tall and strait faced, no emotion passed over his features. But one could barely detect the way his shoulders quivered with hopelessness, but you could only see it if you were looking for it. 

But it was Logan that still managed to scare the hell out of Bobby. He was mechanically clutching and releasing his fists. His claws shifting in and out with each motion. His breathing was deep and his nostrils flared as his eyes bugged from his dilated eyelids. The veins in his neck popped out and for the life of him he couldn't get his eyes to show anything but the dying flicker of hope. 

Bobby watched his own breath come out in a stream of white, and stared down at his hands, covered in a smooth glossy ice. He seemed to realize the intense cold that his body was divulged in for the first time in his life. He could feel in take over his body, and his insides.

Except.

He gently placed his fingers over his chest, a dull thud could be felt through the layers of cloth and ice, but now it throbbed with a burning sensation. 

And it _hurt_. It _hurt like hell_.

And he knew, he just _knew _that Rogue felt it to. Because that was her, that was her pain, and he could feel it. He smiled as he released his throbbing chest. Rogue was alive, she was in pain, but she was _alive_ and at that point in time. And he would find her.

~!~!~!~

"Please, Mr. Allerdyce, tell me what happened."

John didn't look at him, but instead at this hands. He methodically made swift motions with one hand over the other, then paused and squeezed his fists shut. They'd taken his lighter away from him.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Frosty and Shades over there," he replied tightly, jutting his thumb backward toward two of the brooding men in the background. "We were _talking _in the parking lot in full view of Ms. Munroe." She flinched slightly at the unsaid accusation, and Kurt gently wrapped an arm around her. 

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Xavier leaned over his desk, gently setting his elbows down. This got the full-attention of every being in the room. 

John shook his head sharply, and leaned back into the cushioned chair, "She told me to never talk about them, to _anyone_."

"Are you willing to risk her _life, _just for her trust."

He stood quickly, knocking his chair over in the process, he walked over to the windows, staring sown at the children playing. He folded his hands behind his back, his upper lips twitched as conflict battled across his coffee colored eyes. 

"God _dammit_, John! If you know something..." Bobby let it drop off there, as well at the temperature in the room.

There was a growl that seemed to echo, and Ororo found out it was because of both Logan and Scott. Kurt squeezed her shoulder as she stood.

"The dreams, John, what do you know about the dreams?"

He turned around throwing up his arms, "All I know is that Rogue called me three days before we were attacked. She was fucking scared and crying. I threw on some cloths and drove for two hours till I got here." He stopped his tirade and ran his shaking fingers across his face, "All she would say was that they were coming back for her and Jean's was trying to warn her."

Scott seemed to appear from no where, roughly lifting him by the front of his shirt. "_What?!_"

"Jean's dead," Logan grounded out.

"Rogue sure as hell didn't think so," John sneered pushing Scott away.

"No," Xavier attempted to be the voice of reason as he wheeled himself from behind the desk, "Rogue knew she wasn't dead. As do I." No one spoke, nor moved. They simply didn't trust their legs or voices. "Neither I nor Rogue had any solid proof as to the actual status of Jean. But we had strong suspicions, and Rogue was in brief contact with Jean through her dreams." _I think_, he added unspoken.

Ororo had slid back intro her chair, no longer able to control her shaking legs, Kurt perched on the back of her chair. Logan stood, blinking hard, shaking his head in an attempt to see if he was truly awake. Bobby had retreated to the back of the room, leaning heavily against the wall. Scott stared, unsure if he was to be joyful because Jean was alive, or angry with the Professor for keeping it from him.

Only John remained standing, he'd heard it before.

Before anyone could question the way Xavier handled the situation, Bobby was back. His concern for Rogue greatly outweighing the surprise of Jean. "About what?"

Every one looked to him with confusion, Xavier raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

"John said that Jean was trying to warn Rogue. _What _was she warning Rogue _about_?"

Xavier blinked shrugging, he was on the verge of making a verbal response John interrupted with a quiet voice, "Teed."

Logan looked to him, "I know that name," he muttered darkly.

"Who?" Bobby voiced the question every one, except Logan and Xavier, was thinking.

John looked at him like he was stupid, "Teed," he repeated when he got the same look from the Iceman. He threw up his arms in exasperation, "Teed!" he almost yelled, "You know! The guy who experimented on Rogue after her mutation emerged! The reason she fucking afraid to walk outside alone any more!" Now he was yelling, pointing an angry finger at the window he'd been contemplating moments before. 

Bobby blinked, he reached out shakily for the arm of a chair close behind him. He found it and wrapped his frozen fingers around the arms, sitting down hard, with an incredulous look on his face.

John was breathing hard, his shoulders were hunched as he balled his fists tightly. Pyro's palms itched, desiring the comforting flame of his lighter. His thumbs twitched in the single-handed motion of igniting it.

"Rogue," the icy voice of Bobby quavered and he cleared his throat, "Rogue was _experimented _on?"

"No shit." Revelation flashed across the chocolate eyes on the flamethrower, "You didn't know?" It was a question, not a statement, then, "You didn't know."

"She never told me," what was he trying to do? Defend his inferior knowledge of the one person he should know more about?

Anger flashed, "No wonder, she might have if you weren't trying to shove your tongue down her throat every time you see her." 

The room, which had just returned to normal temperature, dropped again into the 60s. "Why I ought to..." he jumped up grabbed the shorter boy by the front of his shirt. He picked him up with strength born of jaundice and shoved him against the nearest book case.

"Face it, Drake," John sneered into his face, "You don't know _anything_ about her."

Bobby dropped him and threw his fist at his face. It smacked him in the nose, forcing his head to wipe backward. John blinked , then stared crossed eyed at his now bleeding nose, "Son of a bitch," he muttered wiping the crimson liquid away.

He made a motion as to lunge at Bobby, but was held back by Logan, as was Bobby by Scott.

"Take it back!" Iceman tugged against his restrainer.

"Make me."

The similarities between the two contending men and the X-men holding them back was unbelievable, Xavier almost did a double take. And half expected Rogue to step out from the shadows and groan with a, "Ya know I'm standing right here."

But she couldn't because she wasn't there. But now he knew how to find Rogue. With barely a thought and a wave of his hand both John and Bobby stopped struggling. Logan and Scott blinked in unison and backed away from the frozen boys.

He sighed and leaned backward into his chair, he pinched the bridge of his nose, not used to fist-fights breaking out in his office. "Get John to the Med Bay, and make sure his nose isn't broken. Find out if Dr. McCoy has found out what those...pains...were."

"Where are you going, Professor?" Scott asked as Xavier turned his back toward them.

"I need to get to Cerebro, but this time I won't be looking for Rogue's mutant brain waves, or Jean's. I'll be looking for Teed's. After all human brain waves are much easier to uncover."

~!~!~!~

Sorry it took so long. I'll try to get the next one up quicker.

And a cookie goes to whoever can guess why John's picture is titled 'Before.'

Until then, I'm Bazzer.


	5. 5

Title: Dependant

Author: Bazzer

Rating: PG-13 (For now)

Pairings: Marie/Bobby, implied Marie/John, Scott/Jean, one-sided Jean/Logan, I guess I should put in Ororo/Kurt

Story Summary: Rogue may be the only one able to find Jean, but what happens when she goes missing, and John's the only person who know how to find her. There's one problem. He's in a coma.

Chapter Summary: Teed comes up with a plan for Rogue, Scott and Bobby talk as well as Logan and John, and Hank discovers something about Rogue's mutation.

Disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue.

~!~!~!~

Teed looked down at the single manilla folder that laid listlessly on his desk. It was a special project sent to him by a man named Trask, a project involving mutants. Apparently this man was attempting to get government funding for a program pertaining to the complete registration of mutants.

What he needed from Teed was a prototype mutant so show as an example of the uses of mutants in military format in order to...acquire...more mutants for registration. If this failed he would turn to machines, the Doctor would comply.

Teed pondered, a mutant to catch mutants. Paradoxical, but interesting nonetheless. It would have to be a powerful mutant, one that could withstand most mutational attacks, and he knew of none that existed.

Not _yet_, anyway.

Smiling to himself he pressed the button in the intercom on his desk, "Doctor Riviera, prepare the White Room with test subject Carol Danvers."

A crackled replied came back, "Put Unit X in there, as well?"

"Not yet. Then get Mutant 849."

"Michael? The self-healer?"

"Correct, and then prepare the Adamantium Chamber."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and doctor?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Gather as much of Stryker's ... elixir as you can find, I fear that X may not agree with what I must do."

"Right away, sir." There was a click on the other end of the connection as Dr. Riviera broke the line. Teed too turned off the intercom, then again picked up the manilla folder, stamped across the front in government red was: _'Project: Soldier X - Top Secret'_

Smiling down as he traced the words with his stubby fingers, sarcastically talking to himself, "Your father would be so proud," and then as an afterthought, "Marie."

~!~!~!~

Scott couldn't sleep, he was too, well he was something. Was he excited? Was he scared? Was he anxious? Yes, he decided, he was anxious. Anxious to find his student, Rogue. Anxious to get Bobby, Kitty, and Jubilee to pay attention in class again. Anxious to get Magneto's agent out of his home. 

And more importantly, he was anxious to get his fiancé back.

His mindless wanderings brought him unconsciously to the kitchen, and onto the equally sleepless Iceman and a gallon of chocolate ice-cream.

He grabbed a warm pop from the cabinet and handed it to Bobby, who barely touched it and it was cold. Cyclops raised an eyebrow clear over his glasses. "Penny for your thoughts?" he asked straddling the seat on the opposite side of the floating isle.

"Probably aren't worth that much."

"Try me."

"I was just thinking about what John had said."

"Look, Bobby, you need to ignore him. He's going to say anything to get under your skin, trying to get you upset-"

"No!" Iceman stood and slammed his fists down on the counter. "No," he repeated calmer, "No, he's right. I don't know anything about her." He sat back down and running his finger through his hair he mumbled a 'sorry.'

"Well, what do you know?"

"Next to him? I know jack shit."

"No, not next to him. On your own, what do you know?" Scott shrugged, "What's her favorite song?"

"'I Believe' by Diamond Rio."

"Favorite colors?"

"Emerald green and silver."

"What does she want to do with her life?"

"She wants to be a teacher, and an X-man."

"What's her real name?"

"Marie."

"Then you do know _something_ about her."

"Nothing important."

"How do you feel about her?"

Bobby looked up at his mentor, confusion passed against his icy blue eyes, "I love her. I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

"Then that's all you need to know." Scott stood, his soda forgotten, "You have the rest of your lives to figure out the past and the future. But for know concentrate on the present." He was about to walk out the way he came in when a thought struck him, "Promise me something, Bobby."

"What?"

"When we get her back, don't let her walk away without a fight. You're going to face a hell of a lot of shit and heartache, but promise me you won't give it up without a fight."

"It?"

"Love, Bobby, don't give up your love."

"I promise, I promise I'll fight," and Scott was gone. Bobby sat there for a second, seemingly paralyzed to the spot, then he got up and put the ice-cream away, suddenly not hungry, and followed his role model.

~!~!~!~

"Doctor Teed? How long do you wish for us to hold the transaction?"

He seemed to actually think the question over, but for he asked a question instead of answering directly, "How long was our longest transaction?"

"One minute and seventeen seconds, sir."

He saw the look in Rogue's eyes and simply stared at her, it was a test of wills, and Teed knew how to break her. "Three minutes, Doctor, hold the transition for three minutes."

"But sir, the mutant it was on, she, well sir, she was barely alive when we pulled them apart."

"I understand that."

"But, sir, three minutes," he opened his hands, showing he was at a loss of words, but Teed continued to look Rogue in the eyes, "Sir, three minute, well that would... Sir, that would."

"Let me put it this way Doctor Riviera, when you remove the hand of test subject Carol Danvers from the arm of test subject Unit X, I only want one of them to be breathing."

For a moment he briefly looked to his associate, and thought the younger man might have stood up to him, then a "Yes, sir."

Teed returned his gaze to Rogue who, much to his hidden surprise, stared back at him evenly.

__

Don't you get it, he thought to himself,_ I'm using you to kill someone. But no, you aren't surprised are you? Because you already knew._

~!~!~!~

Scott and Bobby were not the only two sleepless and walking around that night. Logan prowled the halls like a guard dog, in an attempt to compensate for the night he should have been prepared for. He did it often and sometimes was joined by Bobby, but tonight he was alone.

The dorm area was secure and he was on his way down to the Danger Room for a few simulations when the sound of grunts and the merciless pounding on a bag designed for that purpose. His investigation brought him to the work out room, more specifically the mats in the center in which a punching bag hung from the ceiling.

"I'm not one t' follow the rules, but using our equipment t' train t' fight against us is pretty high in the 'Don't' list."

John was not amused, he brought his fists down harder against the synthetic skin of the exercise equipment. "Bite me," he grounded out in a 'piss-off' voice.

There was a growl from behind him and he turned his head slightly to see Logan barring his teeth in a snarl, "Want my advice, pick a different phrase."

John turned his body fully to the older mutant, Wolverine was more surprised that he didn't seem afraid of him, "Go ahead," he replied opening his arms to a completely defenseless position, "I'm in need of a good penance." When Logan simply stared at him, he grew bored easily and turned back to resume his punching.

"For what?"

"I broke a promise."

"What?"

He spun on his toes to face the other man, anguish etched deeply into his features, "I broke a promise! I swore to her, I _swore_ that I would keep her safe, that I would protect her! And what happens? She gets taken when she's with _me!_" He brought his hands up helplessly, then set them back to his sides. Fists tight in an attempt to ward off tears.

Logan remained outwardly placid, "From what?"

Here John gave him a bitter laugh and a shrug, "Life, her dream's, Magneto," a sardonic smile, "Reality."

"That seems a bit impossible."

John looked him directly in his eyes, and Logan almost gasped at the turmoil raging behind the boys brown eyes, "Not with good incentive."

A silent connection seemed to pass between the two of them in that moment, but soon John was unable to stand the look in the other's eyes and turned away once again. "Is there something you what or did you just feel like interrogating someone?"

"I wanted to talk to you about what you said in Xavier's office. What you said to Bobby."

"If your looking for an apology, you can just leave now."

"Apology for what? I don't think you were wrong."

John's shoulders went up and froze with a realization, "You don't like him."

"Doesn't mean I like you. I don't like anyone that looks at Rogue the way he does."

"You must not like a lot of people."

"Not really, the kid's just too much of a ...teenager, with... hormones and shit."

"I sense a 'but.'"

"But-"

"I'm fucking psychic."

"You shouldn't joke about that, especially around here. As I was saying, **but **he's good for Rogue. He can offer her a better life, a safer one, one that's going to help her out more than-"

"Than if she was with me?" John balled his fists, as he guessed at what Logan was attempting to get at. "You don't think I know that?" He barely gave Logan a moment to respond, "I know that he's better for her than I am. GOD Dammit, Logan! You don't think I've _tried_ to stop loving her?!" 

Seeming to get fed up with the conversation John began to storm out of the room, "I've tried, Logan, God knows I have. But believe me it's easier to stop the world from turning."

And as John left the room, Logan was still in the same spot he'd been in since he first walked in, a stunned silence over taking him. And a new found, and well hidden, respect for the Pyro that just walked out, was settling in the back of Wolverine's emotions.

~!~!~!~

Doctor Henry 'Hank' McCoy was not easily stumped, he never had to BS his way through a paper, and always had an answer to the most rhetorical questions. 

But, _dammit_, this was completely past his mental capability. In all honest the 'pains' that had over taken both John and Bobby were completely and totally, well, unrealistic. And the fact that they both _knew_ that the pains were from Rogue was not helping him in any way.

Before him laid three different manilla folders, something akin to permanent records, each belonging to Rogue, Iceman, and Pyro, respectively. They detailed and outlined the sources and effects of the individual mutations.

He pushed Rogue's file back and brought up both of the boys, Bobby said he felt cold all over except it felt as if his heart was on fire, and John was the exact inverse. They were possible the most opposite boys Hank had ever meant and yet found a common interest in the girl. Who Henry found both beautiful and fascinating, and quickly found the reason both boys, on different ends of the spectra, found a happy medium in her.

With a sigh of exhaustion, he pushed both of the files back and brought the girl's file forward. She was the connection, the reason behind the intense emotion of the two others. 

But why?

They both had feelings for her, that was easy enough to see. Which loved her more was as lost to him as the reason he was sitting there. Both had grudgingly admitted to making skin contact with the girl at least once in the week before she'd been kidnaped.

Bobby in a kiss goodbye, John in holding her as cried about her dreams. Which would explain why John's reaction was more severe. With a groan he began to reread the file before him, for what must of been the fortieth time. 

He'd been resisting the urge to bang his extremely intelligent head against the desk, and finally gave in. Pulling back he groaned again. Then reached forward to retrieve his glasses, which had fallen off. His eyes snagged the partial sentence enlarged by the frames.

__

Admittedly retains voices. . . deepest recesses of her mind.

He must have missed the sentence, or had not found it important. He picked up his glasses, and read the full sentence. _Admittedly retains voices with in the deepest recesses of her mind from the people that she have absorbed. Admits that even after several years the presences continue to speak to her._

Well, _that_ didn't seem normal. Voices were normally, well maybe not, a sign of a telepathic mutation. He scratched his chin, and read the small note written next to the paragraph in Jean's handwriting.

__

Suffers from frequent nightmares pertaining to the memories she absorbs.

He'd heard of telepathists reaching into others dreams and bearings witness to them. But why would an absorbers mutations find reference in the happenings of a telepath. Unless, most absorbers found a way to control their mutations because it's purely physical. 

Rogue's lack of control was one of the first things that jumped out at him. Usually the absorber never came in contact with the other's psyche, but Rogue obviously did, and for an extended amount of time.

Fact was Rogue did not follow normal protocol for an absorber, she had more qualities in common with a telepath, a psychic.

Hank rubbed his throbbing forehead with the palms of his large hands. This was just getting more confusing, Rogue had the physical aspects of an absorber and the mental aspects of a telepath, as if she was a crossbreed. It was not common, but heard of for a mutant to have more than one mutations. But to have two incomplete ones were unheard of by him.

Unless it wasn't natural. Unless her mutation had been tampered with. He bit the inside of his cheek as he rubbed his over-sized hands together furiously. He'd heard from John's testimony that's she'd been experimented on after her mutation emerged. 

But that wouldn't entail the continual voice of the first one she absorbed. She would have to have been experimented on before her initial memory began.

She was a hybrid, so to speak, and Hank was almost positive of the fact. He picked up a pencil and pulled Rogue's file closer to himself. At the top of the first page next to _Marie 'Rogue' D'Acanto_ he scratched out _Absorber _and replaced it with _Touch-Telepath._

He sat back, slightly satisfied with himself. This would also partially explain the original mystery. If Rogue was as he expected then both John and Bobby resided in her mind. She would more than likely reside in both if there minds. But because they didn't have telepathic qualities they were not fully aware of it.

If Rogue had been in an immense amount of pain then both John and Bobby would feel it. Since they were the last two to touch her. It was merely a high-powered psychic blast.

Hank leaned back wards in his chair, he folded his hands over his chest in a content manner. Smiling he gently propped his feet up on the desk, carefully avoiding the records.

He nearly fell out of his chair when he realized that had it been a psychic blast it would have happened in their heads not in their hearts. But then again maybe she didn't reside strongest in their heads, but in their hearts.

Maybe it wasn't mental or physical, maybe it was emotional.

~!~!~!~

The setup was just as it had been for all of the absorptions she'd endured before, except Teed and his entourage decided to hide behind the one-way mirror, just in case. 

Except nothing out of the ordinary happened. After two minutes Carol stopped screaming and at two minutes twenty-six seconds she stopped breathing. Rogue had not fought it and all except the way she arched her back when first in contact she did not move. 

Teed throughly disappointed sent in seven armed guards to prepare her for the absorption of the next test subject. He realized too late that while he'd been occupied with watching Danvers Rogue had snapped the steel bands holding her arms down. 

Her fist had crumpled the sheet of metal that they wrapped around like so much paper. Knowing it would be too late he slammed his fist down on the intercom button, yelling at the to get their ass out of there. 

But was no use as soon as the door hissed closed, Rogue was up and throwing them into the walls, strength that was not hers and anger that was made her impossible to take down.

"What are you waiting for!?" he yelled at the remaining guards pointing a wrinkled finger through the window at the girl on the verge of killing the men with her, "SEDATE HER!"

They appeared at the door, openly firing at her. But the bullets bounced harmlessly off her, and she walked toward them. Behind her one of the first set of guards was able to get a syringe filled with Stryker's liquid, he sneck up behind her while the others kept her busy with the guns. 

Oblivious to Teed yelling at him, he attempted to jam the metal end into her neck. Which immediately bent itself into a jagged line, never penetrating her skin. She turned to him slowly, bullets continually bouncing off if her back.

The pure rage in her eyes, now a deep blue with brown flecks, caused the man to drop the syringe, his hands shaking uncontrollably.

But before she could take another step toward him Dr. Riviera came from behind and slid a metal collar on around her neck. She weakened immediately as Teed had already started the machine. The collar began to throw sparks at her mutation fought off being shut down, and the console next to Teed began to smoke.

With a final attempt to gain control Rogue brought her hands languidly up to her neck, the machinery in the observation room caught fire but was put out, all before Rogue finally collapsed.

~!~!~!~

Xavier screamed out in pain as he quickly pulled Cerebro's helmet from his head. Setting it down he rubbed his temples in a futile attempt to ward off the pain, but it didn't not happen.

Behind him the doors swished open and Ororo ran to him, she'd stayed with him the entire night, a self sacrifice to begin to reconcile for her self-titled sin. 

"Charles? Charles, what happened? Are you okay?"

With a smile he looked up at her, the pain slowing draining away from his head, "It was an immense show of strength, Ororo." Her sleek eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "She broke the psychic field surrounding her, Storm." 

Ororo knelt down in front of him, blinking, "Professor?" she began letting the question hang in the air.

Reaching forward he grasped her shoulders, "New Mexico, Ororo, she's in New Mexico. I found her."

He was not prepared when Ororo threw her arms around his next, a joyous sound erupting from her mouth. Xavier wasn't sure who began crying first, but he knew he was the first to laugh in joy.

~!~!~!~

Well, there you have it. 

But I do need your help, see I have two different ending ideas in my head, one's with Rogue ending up with John and the other is her with Bobby. So I just want to know who _you_ want her to end up with.

OH YEAH! To those of you who guessed that the pic was titled such because it was taken before Bobby and Rogue were official were correct. To make it more clear, it was after she came to the school, but before she dated Bobby. I was just trying to establish a friendship (or more) before Bobby.


	6. 6

Title: Dependant

Author: Bazzer

Rating: PG-13 (For now)

Pairings: Marie/Bobby, implied Marie/John, Scott/Jean, one-sided Jean/Logan, I guess I should put in Ororo/Kurt

Story Summary: Rogue may be the only one able to find Jean, but what happens when she goes missing, and John's the only person who know how to find her. There's one problem. He's in a coma.

Chapter Summary: The Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue.

~!~!~!~

Rogue drowsily blinked back into reality. Then quickly closed her eyes again, wincing back in pain from the blinding whiteness of the room she was in. Unwilling to put her head through the sharp pains that came along with using her eyes, she opted instead to open her other senses.

She noticed it was quite.

Really quite.

As in too quiet, as in there were no voices, internal or external. She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands, an attempt to force the headache back.

With dizzying speed she realized that her hands weren't tied down, she opened her eyes and looked past the explosion of stars. She rubbed her wrists that were still red from her time strapped down. This realization also brought out the fact that she was sitting on a metal chair. Completely free to move about.

Granted she was also stuck in a very large, very round, very white room. 

There was a groan that came from the other side of the room, which Rogue promptly walked to. Then ran when she recognized the person as Jean Grey.

"Jean!" She knelt down next to her and lifted Jean's head into her bare hands. Not even registering the fact that her skin was touching the other woman's with no effect.

The telekinetic's head lolled back and slowly peeled her eyes open. "Rogue?" the sound came out like sandpaper, as if she hadn't had anything to drink in days. Rogue wouldn't put it past the men that ran the facility. 

"Yeah, I'm right here," she spoke in a quiet, comforting voice.

"Where's here?"

Rogue paused as Jean's eyes peered helplessly into her own. Something was wrong. Rogue had never known the woman before her to be helpless. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. "Can you....?" She gestured around the room, asking for a psychic reiteration of what she knew.

Jean shook her head, and tapped the metal collar that hung around her next, "They stop our mutations."

Rogue nodded in understanding, was Jean's eyes the right color? And her hair was longer. Of course, her mind countered, she's been here a while.

"What did they do to you?" Rogue posed the question, she knew from personal experience what they did to any mutant they had any psychic abilities.

"I...I don't know," came Jean's response in a broken voice. "I was in the tube and, and oh God," she buried her face in her hands as she sobbed, her shoulder quavered beneath Rogue's fingers, "They were scanning it."

__

Sorry, wrong answer, they cut off all of your hair, and they cut your skull, and open the back of your cranium. Rogue could still trace the scars that lined the back of her head beneath her thick hair. The scars that not even John knew of.

She immediately began to pick up on other differences that should have been obvious. Her eyes weren't the right shade of green, they would never release a telekinetic, the small box on the back of her collar wasn't blinking.

Rogue steeled her eyes, and backed away from the other woman. She returned to the place where she'd woken up and began to draw her fingers along the wall. "Nice try, Teed. Almost had me fooled. What was this? A test? Did I pass?" 

She stopped when she felt a small indent in the wall, smiling she faced the wall. Slowly she took the 'at ease' position of a soldier. "What is she? A shape-shifter? She's pretty good, almost had all the details right. Almost."

She turned to face the woman in question, "Get up, transmuter, you've been compromised." 

There was a swishing sound from behind her and Rogue tilted her head to see Teed surrounded by four armed men. Two of them went and picked up the other girl, while the others went behind Rogue and clamped a pair of handcuffs on her. They roughly kicked at the back of her knees, and put bruises on her shoulders so that she fell down onto her knees. Bowing down to Doctor Teed before her.

He kneeled down, balancing on the balls of his feet. He brought her chin up so that her could look into her eyes. "Has any one ever told you, that you'd make a perfect soldier?"

And for the first time for as long as Teed could remember, Rogue looked at him, scared.

~!~!~!~

__

My X-men, report to the War Room immediately.

The message swept through the minds of the assorted adults throughout the entire Institute. Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Storm, as well as Hank McCoy dropped what they ere doing and practically ran to the War Room.

All except the solitary form of Bobby Drake, who was currently occupying the couch in front of a blank television. With an immense amount of concentration he brought his flat hand together, parallel to the ground, palms touching. Purposely he lifted his top hand away, leaving a small figurine in it's wake. 

It was a perfect ice replica of the girl, woman really, that he was in love with. The same one that was currently missing, and due to the excited sound to the Professor's mental message, was more than likely just found. 

He smiled as he traced his finger down the side of the statuette, she was so beautiful, she was his. 

"Whatcha doin'?"

Bobby lurched forward in surprise, successfully dropping the ice-sculpture, his breathing deepened in anger as he watched it shatter against the ground. He blinked as he slowly balled his fists, cracking all the knuckles in his fingers.

He twisted around to face an extremely bored-looking John. Who simply raised an eyebrow in response to Bobby's seething. 

"What do _you_ want?"

"Nothin', just wondering why you're not heading to the meeting."

"Uh duh, he called the 'X-men', dumb ass."

John shrugged and began walking in the direction of the lower levels, "And your point is...?"

Bobby blinked, did John just have a good idea?

~!~!~!~

"What the hell do you two think you're doin' here?"Logan raised a menacing eyebrow at the pair as they walked casually into the War Room.

Bobby stopped at the door, while John simply pushed past him and took a seat around the table. "What the hell do you think you're going to say to get us to walk away?" John replied, cocking his head to one side.

"Just let them stay so we can get this over with, I for one would like to get out in the field as soon as possible to save Rogue."

"I must concur wholeheartedly," Beast threw in to back up Scott.

"Please," Storm pleaded on the verge of standing, "Can we get on with this." Kurt nodded as he laid a hand on her shoulder, in an attempt to calm her.

Logan grumbled as he sat with his arms crossed, obviously against involving both the student and the enemy. After hesitating for merely a moment Bobby took the seat between Ororo and Scott, the one farthest from Logan and John. 

Xavier wheeled himself to the open spot at the head of the table, with a wave of his hand a small model of a building rose from the middle of the table. "This is Arachnida Base in New Mexico, it's located about four miles from the farthest reaches of Area 51."

Logan growled as he stood to get a better look, "It looks like Alkali."

"It's based off of Alkali, including the lower levels. Now, the upper levels are legit in their experiments on the vegetation of the surrounding areas. This is obviously a cover." This was accompanied by several undignified snorts from almost every one at the table.

"Beneath there are eight major... edifices, hence the name. As well as many offices and a record room." With another wave of his hand the rooms came up as he spoke of them, "One is a Med Bay. A psychic containment cell, and two testing rooms, both complete with overhanging mechanical arms. Another is known as a 'Break Room' which is used to psychotically break down the test subjects into mentally unstable beings."

He paused there to get an effect, as well as to prepare himself for what was to come, "Two others are filled with mutant test subjects." He stopped and the table fell flat.

"What's the final room, Xavier?" you could hear the aggravation dripping from Logan's voice.

"The final room is known as the Adamantium Chamber." 

Every one in the room looked to Logan, who, despite his anger-prone nature, sat back calmly in his chair, his fingers intertwined over his chest. "You said this Teed has history with her?"

Startled John jumped and blinked when he was addressed. "Huh, uh, yeah he does."

"Then he knows what her power is?"

"I would assume."

"Logan, what are you getting at?" Scott stood at Ororo's question. Suddenly realizing what the Wolverine was getting at.

"Holy shit." He slammed his fists down on the table, and connected eyes with Logan across the table and through his glasses. "You don't think he'd give her claws, do you?"

"If I know the name then he probably has somethin' t' d with these." Logan was scarily calm as he slid his metallic claws from his fists, "And if he did half the shit that John said he did, then I wouldn't hold my breath against it."

"Zen ve should 'urry, ze more time ve vaste 'ere gives 'im more time!"

"Most certainly," the doors slid open and the X-men practically ran to their lockers to get changed, except John who remained in a contemplative state in his chair. Before Scott could get out the door Bobby stopped him.

He placed a hand on the older mutants shoulder, "Please, just, please bring her back to me."

"Why don't you."

"What?" Bobby blinked at his mentor, not quite understanding Scott's response.

"Suit up Bobby, you're coming with us." Under normal circumstances this would make top ten in Bobby's list of happiest moment, but the reasoning behind the mission seemed to damper his mood completely. Instead of smiling he looked to Xavier, who nodded in agreement.

Iceman wordlessly nodded and followed Scott to the locker rooms to get a uniform. Xavier himself was about to leave the War Room to see them off, when he realized he was not the only one left in the room.

"John? I would have thought you'd be the first on the jet."

"I have something on my mind that seems only you can ease."

"And what would that be, Mr. Allerdyce?"

"How did you know? How did you know about the lower levels in the Base?"

Xavier sighed, and bowed his head slightly, which darkened the shadows in the hollows of his eyes. This was in all honesty the first time he'd ever been asked of his sources. All the others just accepted it because with his information they were able to help achieve their dreams.

He figured, that as the first to ask, he would get the entire truth. "To be perfectly honest the knowledge of this Base, as well as Alkali, as been know to me for quite some time. I received the information from an informant in the government a few years back."

"And you were aware of the testings that were preformed in the Bases?"

"Yes, I was and am well aware of the happenings in the Bases. It has been going of for nearly fourteen years."

"And you let it go on?" John was angry now, if Xavier had acted upon this information then Rogue might have been spared the pain she felt, the embarrassment.

"I assure you I let nothing 'go on' I have no control over what these scientists do."

"No control? You had _no control?!_ Damn it, Xavier, without acting you let hundreds if not thousands of mutants go though the pain and embarrassment that _no one _should feel!" He slammed his fists down on the table for emphasis, causing Xavier to jump in his seat.

"I cannot send in the X-men just to destroy a Testing Facility! It's unethical and completely against the goal I'm attempting to work for," replied the older man, getting angry himself.

"And experimenting on our brethren is ethical?!"

"We are not _mercenaries_, Mr. _Allerdyce_!"

"And you're not _God,_ _Xavier_, you can't decided who's good enough to save!" Unable to stand the sight of the man before him, John turned quickly and all but stomped his way to the X-jet.

Xavier sat back into his wheelchair, and smoothed out his jacket to his three piece suit, suddenly reminded as to why he did not disperse information that was not need-to-know. 

~!~!~!~

Ororo flew the jet with Scott riding next to her. "Alright people, this is what going to happen. Storm, Beast and Pyro are going to head to the Record Office, I want all the files destroyed, it'll be like they never existed. While myself, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Iceman head to the holding cells. We meet back at the top office at exactly twenty minutes after we go in. Avoid confrontation, if you can't then you may fight, but don't kill," he made it a point to look directly at Logan, "I don't want blood on our hands."

Get in was surprisingly easy, Scott melted a large circle in the side of the building and Logan barrel-rolled to push it down. The upper levels were full of scientists that were sent running outdoors when John set of the fire alarm and Bobby and Storm went around freezing the doors, entrances, and exits shut. 

Logan's claws provided a good enough access code to get them into the elevator and sent to the designated level. They split into their two separate groups with fifteen minutes to complete their tasks. 

Cyclops' group had it relatively easy, Wolverine could smell the soldiers and scientists before they got too close, Iceman would freeze them, Cyclops would blast open a close closet or office door, and Nightcrawler would 'port' them into it. While Beast's group had first encountered a single scientists. He was easily disposed of, and Hank donned his white coat, and lead Storm and Pyro away as if they were prisoners. This got them through just about every one, and if they were not followed Storm would merely call upon the winds and blow the men through an open door.

They got into the Record Room and Hank immediately took to the computer deleting files, Storm set a small fire to the paper files that John was dumping onto the ground. She continued to throw the files into the controlled fire as John went to lock the door.

When he closed it he found another door behind it. 'Dr. Alexander Teed' was written on the glass. Making John begin to think of it as the principal's office. It was unlocked and John pushed the door open easily. It was dark inside and John opted for that rather than turning on the light. He walked around the scantily decorated office, pausing briefly to sit in the plush high-back chair behind the desk. 

He opened the drawers on either side and, after rifling through the files, set them on fire. He was about to leave when his eye caught three more files tucked safely beneath a pile of memos. 

'_Project: Sabertooth'_

He raised an eyebrow as he flipped deftly though the small file. Mutation, expectation, history, genealogy, nothing important.

__

'Stryker's file: Magneto'

John wondered if his boss would like to know everything that Stryker knew about him. He felt almost guilty as he tapped the top of the file. He quickly closed it and shoved it off of the desk, along with Sabertooth's, into the fire built of the others.

_'Project: Soldier X - Top Secret'_

Hm, that sounded interesting. But when he opened it he was surprised to see, instead of papers, a small CD. With gloved fingers he held the disc at eye level. Deciding it wasn't worth his time he was about to snap the metallic disc in half he caught the picture that was hidden beneath.

Rogue's chocolate eyes stared back at him in a lifeless manner that was not usually reflected in photos. 

Beneath the picture was a list of aliases:

__

Marie Creed

Mutant 37

Marie D'Acanto

Unit X 

Rogue

Soldier X

But that was it, the only paper in the entire file.

With shaking fingers John looked back at the small disc, and pocketed it. With a final look of disgust he made the flame raise to lick to ceiling in a tempting manner. He stepped through the flames, without flinching and shut the door behind him.

"Hey, Mr. McCoy."

"Yes, my dear boy," the older man replied without looking up from computer.

"How many mutants do you think have gone through here?"

"There are on record almost nine hundred mutants." 

John resumed helping Storm, "At nine hundred mutants for fourteen years, that's almost sixty mutants a year, right?"

"It would seem that Mr. Summer's math class was good for something, no?" came from Ororo, as she paused to look at him. 

"I guess so, but if a mutant was numbered, let's say thirty seven, that would mean she, uh um, they were probably here like almost fourteen years ago, right?"

"I would say that it's more than probable." The man finally looked up, narrowing his eyes to look at the boy who had finally finished destroying all the records. "Why?"

John shrugged in an impassive manner, "Just curious." But despite his unemotional exterior his mind was working at a thousand miles an hour, _Good God, she was four_.

But his musings were cut short as Cyclops' voice wafted over the communicator, "We're done, we have Rogue and are heading to the rendezvous point."

"Scott, did you find Jean?"

There was a pause when time seemed to stand still, until Cyclops' voice replied, "No."

There was a crackle, and then the connection was cut off. They stood still for less than a second, the grief washing over them anew.

"Come, we must leave, Pyro can you put out the fire?"

"Sure." McCoy was the first out the door with Storm on his heels, John did not run out but turned to watch the fire build. He lowered his hands, causing the flames to do as he did. Then the door leading to Teed's office finally gave beneath the force of John's fire. 

John gave into temptation, and with a wild cry, full of the anguish of knowing Rogue, his Rogue, had been here when she was merely _four, _gave way and the flames rose to demolish the room. He exited slowly, bringing the flames with him.

~!~!~!~

Getting to the cells was the easy part, hell, even getting the cells open was easy. What with the combined powers of the four X-men getting the thirty odd cells open and the mutants out was cake. But there in lies the problem. 

The thirty odd mutants that were the reasoning behind the Testing Facility. They looked like prisoners and saw their saviors for what they were, with so much as a thanks they took off down the corridors toward freedom. Logan was the one that found Rogue.

He stood outside her cell, fought back the rising bile in his throat at the over-powering smell of blood and pain. She was curled in a tight ball, in the back corner, not moving. He smelt death upon her, but not her own. And something else, something metallic, something Adamantium. 

With a scream of pure fury he slashed the bars and hunched over the prone form of his adoptive daughter. She looked at him with hollow eyes, and a smile born of someone who's been through it all, "L-Logan?"

"Yeah, darlin' I'm right here," he'd never heard his voice so soft before, and he realized that it sounded choked up, like he was about to cry.

"You were right," she brought up her hands to reveal bleeding slits between her knuckles, "It hurts every time."

He took her hands into his, intent on giving her his mutation to heal, but nothing happened until Rogue tapped the collar that adorned her neck. With shaking fists Logan cut it off, and gathered the smaller girl into his arms.

"I'm sorry, Logan, I never knew." 

Before he could ask what the hell she meant, she was unconscious in his arms, the slits on the back of her hand sealed up.

He walked out of the cell slowly, passed Bobby who only stared, and Logan could see the rage and fire that he only associated with the man he saw in the mirror. 

Scott and Kurt walked to him together, concern mixed relief in the dark features of the German circus performer. The Canadian caught the eyes of Cyclops and dropped his head, he knew Scott's personal feelings were not for the brunette in his arms. 

But for the red-head who's scent was not there, Logan looked up again and shook his head. Scott's fac seemed to fall into shadow as he pressed the communicator painfully to his ear. "We're done, we have Rogue and are heading to the rendezvous point."

Ororo's voice came back, the apprehension and relief mixed to give her accent a odd twinge, "Scott, did you find Jean?"

Scott broke down inside, and from the pain he felt Cyclops rose, "No."

He clicked it off in an automated fashion, and led the way back to the agreed meeting point.

Not half-way there Logan stopped, crouched down, and held Rogue tighter to his chest, "Teed," he growled out.

"Wolverine, we have no time."

"Wrong I have a score to settle," he looked at the girl in his arms, "For two of us."

"I'm going with you."

"Iceman, no." But it was too late, he looked into the icy eyes of the girl's boyfriend and he could see the heartbreak. See that if he was around her in this state much longer he'd break, and he could see the desire and determination to watch the man who did this wither in pain.

They then looked to their leader, who merely warned them to hurry, Kurt stepped forward and opened his arms to take the precious cargo. 

Logan nodded and led Bobby to a hallway that split, "You go that way and I'll go this way, we'll cut him off." Bobby went with a nod, and didn't think twice to question the battle-scared mutant.

Cyclops and Nightcrawler took to running to the meeting point in which the others were already at. Rogue stirred in Kurt's arms as he neared the other three. John ran to meet them, promptly taking Rogue into his own arms. She blinked back into reality.

"Damn it, I died didn't I."

"Impossible, I sure as hell ain't no angel," he replied grinning down at her.

"Liar," she threw her arms around him, and he whole-heartedly returned the hug. The other four standing in the hall looked at them, not quite sure if this should be going on. 

She pulled back, and looked at him, then looked at the other four, "Where's Logan? I-I saw him, I talked to him."

Storm, too, seemed to finally notice the missing members, "Where indeed, and Bobby, too."

"Bobby?" Rogue was now officially confused, John wrapped an arm her waist to help her stand, "Scott?"

"They went to look for Teed."

"And you let them?!" Rogue looked furious. "Scott how could yo–"

**__**

BOOM!

Rogue tirade was cut off by an explosion that came from the corridor the Storm's group had come from. "Come, we must be gone," Ororo all but pushed John and Rogue to the exit. 

"But– "

"NO, now go," they were almost there when Rogue stopped, her strength had been building quickly due to her absorbed healing abilities, "Forgive me." She reached forward and touch Kurt briefly on the face. "But I need to save someone."

"Rogue! You can't control the fire! You'll die!" Why the hell was he arguing with her? Scot wondered momentarily.

"But I can," John stood strongly next to her, she smiled in a pained manner. 

"You need to get out of here," Rogue told the remaining adults, the touching John on the shoulder, they were gone with a **_bamf_**.

There was another explosion that rattled the halls, "Although I am not one for leaving our comrades behind, I fear we will not make it out alive ourselves if we do not leave now."

"I agree."

"Scott!"

"We have to trust them, Ororo, that's all we have left." And even with a horror-stricken look the white-haired weather goddess, wordlessly followed him to the exit, a prayer on her mind.

~!~!~!~

John wondered slightly if he should have asked Rogue where the hell they were going. They ended up in an empty room. In the middle of the room was a metal bed that rested on an incline, with metal cuffs for hands, feet and a head. Rogue walked opposite a one-way mirror, and to the wall with a thin line straight down. 

John watched, unsure of what to do, as Rogue attempted to pry the doors apart with her bare fingers. He looked around and found a small cart with a remote control on it. Curious, hee picked it up and pressed a button. The doors Rogue had been attempting to open did so with a hiss.

Pyro dropped the control in surprise at the floating form of his former Biology teacher. There was a _shink_ and John looked around for Wolverine, only to find himself and Rogue in the room.

Rogue with metal claws much like those of her 'father's'. He blinked, "What the _hell_ did he do to you?!"

But his voice was lost as Rogue used her new weapons to cut an X in the glass, and watched it shatter. Jean's unconscious body leaned forward, still connected by the wiring. 

John jumped forward to catch her as Rogue slashed the wiring, setting her free. John watched as Rogue's claws slid back into her hands smoothly, she cursed softly as she rubbed her knuckles, already healed. Rogue turned to him, apprehensive as to what his reaction would be.

He looked her in the eyes, as he shifted Jean's body to an easier position to carry, "Are you ok?"

She nodded and smiled, and suddenly fell to her knees, gripping at her stomach. "Bobby," sprang from her mouth and John felt as if he'd been hit with a bucket of ice water. "He-he's trapped."

"Come on, we have to help him," she nodded and placed a hand on Johns shoulder and 'ported him to another corridor, outside a similar door. Pyro realized that there was no remote for this one. Rogue slid her claws at and lashed out at the door. But they had little to no effect. He lost time as he watched her pound fruitlessly, every time the flame came into view John would glare at them until they retreated back a comfortable distance.

Jean was beginning to feel heavy in his arms and he again shifted her. Rogue was sitting on the floor, her forehead pressed against the cool metal of the door. John called to her, she looked asleep, but no matter what he yelled she wouldn't move. He couldn't go to her for he couldn't put Jean down, nor draw his attention far from the fires he was attempting to control.

__

I can't save him, and John can't stop the fires forever. Should I leave him and save John and Jean. And what about Logan, is he ok?

My God, you whine a hell of a lot.

Who are you, and what are you doing in my mind?

There was what sounded like a mental snort, _Guess._

Oh yeah, Carol. She vaguely remembered absorbing the woman to death, and because she was such a strong presence, locking her up immediately. The self-healer, Michael, was more subdued and Rogue allowed him to walk around free. 

__

Yeah, Carol. Free me and I'll help you get your precious boyfriend out.

How do I know you'll actually help?

It's either sit here and listen to you whine until you kill us both, _or help you. Besides, what that hell else to I have to do?_

Rogue slowly broke away the mental prison she'd built to house the more uncontrollable people she'd taken under. Carol psyche was strong and immediately fused itself to Rogue's. Untapped strength and an impenetrable desire to fly coursed it's way through Rogue's bloodstream. 

Her eyes, now a deep brown flecked with blue and green, snapped open and her fingers dug deeply into the metal crack. She squeezed the metal beneath her fingers to create a handle and pulled with strength born of compromises. John looked at her, not sure what was going on, but knowing already that he'd follow the woman before him through hell and back.

He steeped through the doorway created by Rogue and surveyed to wreckage. Three soldiers all iced over, a turned over bed with a dead mutant trapped beneath it, a bullet between his eyes, the glass was shattered and a numerous amount of scientists and soldiers lay dead, each with an assorted amount of claw marks and frostbite.

Bobby was slouched against the wall, breathing with a sedative dart producing itself from his neck. A bullet hole in his shoulder dripped blood. Rogue ran to him with John's eyes on her, she knelt in front if him shaking his shoulder gently until he murmured her name, proving he was alive.

With a smile she picked him up like he weighed a little more than a pillow. "We have to find Logan before he does something stupid." John nodded, knowing he'd never been the one in control. 

They found the man a little ways down the hall. With the front of Teed's coat bunched in his fists, the older looking man's back pressed against the wall, a good foot off the ground. 

"Logan, NO!"

The man in question looked down the hall to see the girl he saved running toward him, with a man in her arms that should have been to heavy, quickly followed by another boy carrying a woman who should have been dead. 

"Logan, please, he's not worth it, just put him down, and let's get out of here."

"After what he did to you!?" He looked back to the man he held at arms length, "After what he helped to do to me?!"

"Yes, Wolverine, kill me and let the secrets of your past die with me." Suddenly his desire to know of his past outweighed his desire to watch the man before him bleed and die. 

"Logan, please, we have to get out of here."

"Go without me."

"No!"

"Damn it Rogue! Just go! Every thing I want is right here, in this SOB's head."

"Logan, there's more to your life than your past!"

"Give me one good reason to walk away."

"ME! The X-men!"

John stepped forward, "Because if you die, Scott wins by default."

Logan blinked, and turned his head slowly to look at Pyro. He knew, hell Logan was sure a lot of people knew, but Pyro _knew_, because he was in a similar situation. The kid was Logan, and Rogue was Jean, which left Scott to be played by Bobby. 

And suddenly Logan knew. Why John's promise hod been so important, why he'd gotten Bobby to go the meeting. Why he was at the meeting. With a final growl, Logan threw Teed away, and took Jean from John, who looked fit to collapse. 

John rubbed his now free hands together, and encased Teed in a circle of high flames.

Logan looked down at the woman in his arms, and began to notice the subtle similarities between her and the woman that was there not a half an hour ago. "Let's go home."

John paved a way through the flames to the exit. 

~!~!~!~

MY GOD! I'm so sorry it took so long! But I had the worst case of writers block, and I know that's it's not really the greatest excuse, but it's true.

So in the next chapter, you find out who Rogue ends up with, and right now John is in the lead. So if you're all hoping for Bobby, you'd better vote. Love ya lots, and thanks again.

Bazzer


End file.
